


Canon Divergent AUs

by Behind_The_Hood



Series: Captive Prince Tumblr Drabbles, Snippets, and Prompts [4]
Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Canon Universe, Courting Rituals, F/M, Genderbending, Lack of Ladders, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-04-23 15:50:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19154149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Behind_The_Hood/pseuds/Behind_The_Hood
Summary: A conglomeration of any Tumblr drabbles, snippets, and prompts that take place in the canon setting.





	1. Orchard (Damen/Laurent)

**Author's Note:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : Laurent want a fruit high in a tree, Damen surprises him by putting him on his shoulders

Picking fruit in the orchard doesn’t seem romantic, until you arrive.

Laurent had anticipated having a boring day in pleasant company, maybe even a quickie behind a tree to add some excitement to the trip, but Damen had produced baskets for both of them and offered his arm to scan the trees for the perfect oranges, and Laurent’s thoughts died off.

A courting trip, Damen had called it. His mother had gone here with his father when they were courting.

It turned out more pleasant than he thought it would be. Laurent had worn pants on the off chance he’d have to climb a tree, but he’d foregone his jacket with the heat, and that proved advantageous, because they ended up spending a lot of time up in the trees. The lower branches didn’t bare Damen’s weight as well, but what branches he couldn’t climb, he made up for in being able to jump up and grab his orange of choice.

Laurent made more than his fair share of catcalls whenever Damen’s chiton came up to flash his butt or dick. Damen would blush beautifully and shush Laurent, glancing for laborers every time, much to Laurent’s amusement. Akielons are such prudes.

They also shared handjobs behind a tree, so that was nice. Not so prudish after all.

Laurent’s basket had grown full, and they would be leaving soon, when Laurent came upon the last tree in the line.

He looked up and saw a ripe orange out of reach, the orange too high for Damen to jump and grab, and the lower branches too weak to hold even Laurent’s weight.

Damen came to Laurent’s side and looked up as well, spotting the orange just as easily.

Damen takes their baskets and sets them aside, near the base of the tree. Laurent thinks of them having to walk all the way to the other end of the orchard to ask for a ladder, then having to carry it all the way here to grab the orange, and then they'd have to carry it back  _again_  and–

Laurent gasps, a sudden rush of air and motion, his fingers tangling violently into a mess of sweaty hair. “Damen!”

Laurent is sitting on Damen’s shoulders. Damen had come up behind him, slipped his head between Laurent’s legs, and stood up, hands holding Laurent’s thighs to keep him steady.

Damen laughs and pats Laurent’s thigh. “Stand up, you’ll be able to reach it.”

Laurent will do no such thing. “Are you mad? Has the heat reached your brain? I’m not going to stand on your shoulders for an orange.”

Damen’s grin turns challenging, and Laurent loathes how Damen knows what will manipulate him. “Are you scared? We could always go request a ladder.”

Laurent glares down at the big oaf under him, and gets his balance about him to stand on Damen’s shoulders.

Muttering curses under his breath, Laurent gets a foot around so his shin digs into Damen’s shoulder, than the other. Damen holds Laurent’s hands as he rises up, then Laurent’s feet when he grabs for a branch to keep his balance.

Damen takes a step closer and Laurent’s heart thunders in his chest.

He picks the orange, and Damen catches Laurent when he slips from his shoulders to drop in his arms. Damen cradles Laurent to his chest.

Laurent’s glare could kill. “That wasn’t fun.”

Damen’s grin could make flowers bloom. “Yes it was.”

Laurent shoves the orange into Damen’s mouth and wriggles out of his arms, stomping away. Damen’s muffled laughter follows him.


	2. Balcony Escape (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : secret mission of some sort, with only Lamen, Nik and a few soldiers, who are shocked when Laurent uses Damen to climb on a balcony. Damen is just annoyed.

“You can’t reach that.”

Nikandros’ quick dismissals are always appreciated.

Damen, Lazar, and Pallas finally catch up to them while Laurent scans the alley they’ve ended up in. Laurent glances over at Nik; tall, strong, but he’d drop Laurent and call it an accident first chance he got.

Pallas is just slightly shorter, just as strong, but he’d injured his foot in their last excursion and isn’t likely to volunteer again, even if Laurent asks nicely.

Lazar isn’t tall enough, though he may be strong enough. Laurent isn’t going to waste time finding out.

That would leave Damen.

Tallest of the bunch, inarguably strongest of them all, and if he dropped Laurent, at least he’d feel bad about it.

So Laurent takes Damen’s hands and leads him under the balcony. His confusion is evident, but Laurent places a kiss to his lips and he doesn’t seem to care anymore.

“Don’t let me go,” Laurent whispers in the space between them.

Damen holds his eye, hands squeezing. “Never.”

“Good.” Laurent’s hands come up to Damen’s shoulders. “Fold your hands together.”

The bewildered look is back on Damen’s face, but he does as bid, and Laurent steps onto his hands before Damen can stop him.

Laurent already has a foot on Damen’s shoulder by the time he’s figured out that they’re going through the balcony rather than the front entrance.

“What is he doing?!” Pallas whisper shouts, horror lacing his words.

“He’s obviously using Damen like a ladder,” Lazar snorts.

“How dare he–” Nikandros starts, too shocked to sound angry, though Laurent is sure that will follow next.

Laurent’s got both feet on Damen now, and Damen sounds both resigned and angry as he says, “Look, he’s already up there. What can we do about it?”

“Drop him.”

Laurent knew he couldn’t trust Nikandros.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about it.”

If Laurent accidentally kicked Damen in the head for that last comment, well…whoops.


	3. Lioness (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-le-hyene asked: Prompt : No Damen. It's a savage beast. Not a pet.

Laurent felt tense on his throne, in a way he’s wholly unprepared to feel, and isn’t sure what to do with the situation before him.

Damianos grins. “She’s so sweet! Look, she even let me pet her!”

Damianos reaches his hand out to touch the lion’s head, and Nikandros catches his wrist before Laurent even has to ask.

She yawns, maw opened wide to reveal rows of sharp, white teeth. If she weren’t laying down to rest, she’d be prowling in preparation to rip out their throats.

That she feels so comfortable to rest at all says a lot about how little a threat she sees them.

“I’m keeping her.”

Laurent snaps to attention, eyes sharp on Damianos. “No Damianos. It’s a savage beast. Not a pet.”

Damianos’ lips purse. If the room had an audience and not a small handful of the men they’d had with them on the road, Laurent is sure Damianos would be angry with him. Would have viewed Laurent’s words as a challenge to his authority. Or at least, the council would have seen it that way, and expected Damianos to react accordingly.

Right now, he is simply petulant.

“You cannot stop me.”

This is a ridiculous argument, and Laurent doesn’t want to have it.

“Can someone please explain to him why keeping a lioness in our palace as a  _pet_  is  _not_  a good idea?”

All mouths remain closed, and it occurs to Laurent that maybe they already tried, and Laurent had been their last line of defense.

It’s with a deep breath and a great deal of willpower that Laurent says his next statement. “Fine.”

Nikandros is first to find his voice. “You cannot be serious, my King.”

Laurent turns to Nikandros. “Of course I am. If Damianos wants to keep her as his pet, who am I but his husband to tell him no? The empress of Vask has two big cats chained to her throne. Why should one prove any worse?”

Nikandros looks like he can think of many reason why, starting with the lion attacking someone. Ending with it attacking Damianos.

Laurent agrees with every point, but Damianos is as stubborn as Laurent, and will not agree to being rid of his new friend.

“A trial run. If she seems fit for court life, she’ll remain. Should she prove unruly, then she’ll be released back into the wild where she was found.”

Damianos agrees to these terms, reasonable as they are. Shocking. Laurent looks at the lioness and she meets his eyes.

It could prove fun having her around, riling up the council in a way Laurent and Damianos never could. Laurent smirks.


	4. Through the Balcony (Laurent/Nikandros)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : Damen or Nik "for fuck qake Laurent ! Why are you coming from the balcony ??"

Nikandros strips off his chiton, leaving it in a pile on the floor. He’s tired from a day of meetings and his stomach is warm with wine, he’d love nothing more than to curl up on his bed and let the weight on his shoulders lift for a few blissful hours.

Just as he’s sat down, a scuffle comes from his balcony. It could be a bird, but it could just as easily be an assassin. Nikandros is not a man who takes unnecessary risks.

He grabs his sword on his way to the window. He’s undressed, but at least he’s armed, and that’s better than sleeping easy when the intruder decides to slit his throat.

And he knows it’s an intruder, because no animal makes a sound like crushing ivy under foot and hand or the panting of a tedious upward climb.

Nikandros watches pale fingers curl around the edge of his balcony, seeking purchase then finding it.

When it’s Laurent heaving himself over the side, Nikandros hurries to help.

“For God’s sake, Laurent! Why are you coming from the balcony?”

Laurent lets Nikandros take his hands and help him over the edge, then continues to hold on while Laurent gains his bearings. Then continues to hold on still.

Laurent smiles, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “It’s hard to sneak passed guards when they stand vigil at your door.” He looks over the balcony, then pointedly down. He’s still letting Nikandros hold his hands. “You should have guards stationed outside your window. I had a terribly easy time getting up here.”

Nikandros nods. “I’ll see that it’s done.”

Laurent looks back up at him, and this time he is giddy with anticipation. “I’ve missed you, my dear barbarian.”

Nikandros’ throat is tight, emotions choking him. He’s missed Laurent to, having him in his arms, being able to reach out and touch, his warm body under Nikandros’ hands. He wants Laurent more than anything.

He wants desperately.

Laurent must see the desire in Nikandros’ eyes, for he matches it ten fold, surging up to kiss Nikandros. “Ravish me,” Laurent says, commands, against Nikandros’ lips.

It’s with a shocking jolt that Nikandros wakes, his mind and body both rebelling violently at the thought. There’s a body in the bed with him, blonde, but decidedly female. Not Laurent then.

Another dream. Just another dream.

Laurent is sleeping in his own bed, with Damianos by his side.

Nikandros hates himself just a little for wishing his dream to be true.


	5. Birthday Baby (Damen/Fem!Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : Laurent is pregnant and is having a bad hormons day and verbally rip the throats of everyone that happens to pass. Damen keep everyone out. "I can take it. Plus it's kinda my fault so..." (I wanted to write that as part of a longer fic but if I like your version more I may ask for your authorization to use it)

Laurent is eight months along, bigger in the stomach than she thinks she should be, and ready to maim the first person to cross her path.

Paschal doesn’t believe it’s two babes, just that Damianos is a large man and therefore bears large children.

Laurent blows a strand of hair from her face, hands clutching her stomach to hold up the giant child sleeping in there.

Of course Damianos is the reason she’s suffering right now. His big body and his big ego and his big dick all got her into this mess.

The guards straighten when she arrives at the throne room, they bow deep, muttering “my Queen,” and open the doors for her. Damianos is sitting on their joint throne, alone, but rises when he sees her enter. That prompts the rest of the court to bow or curtsy.

Laurent is about to walk in when a courtsman joins her, offering his arm. He’s the grandson of a councilman and has been trying to schmooze himself into Laurent’s good graces with the hopes to take his grandfather’s place upon his retirement.

Laurent keeps her hands on her stomach. “Did I ask for assistance?” Laurent asks, her voice sharp.

The courtsman looks ill at ease, and steps away. Laurent watches his retreat, then walks through the room to join her husband at their thrones.

She takes Damianos’ hand when he offers and he helps her sit. She has a crushing grip and does not let go. Damianos looks wary as he joins her, but keeps the smile on his face. He is to be a father, he is to seem the happiest man in the kingdom.

The court goes back to milling about the room. Laurent watches them for a moment, then says to Damianos, “You didn’t wake me up this morning, husband.”

Damianos doesn’t look over. “You were up half the night with nightmares, wife. I let you sleep.”

Laurent’s lips press together, her anger palpable.

Nikandros walks up to them and whispers something into Damianos’ ear, and a grin spread over his face, truer than his previous one. It makes Laurent’s blood boil.

“What is it you find so pleasing?”

Damianos and Nikandros both look over when she snaps.

Nikandros looks put out. Damianos turns to his friend. “Forgive her, she’s in a poor mood this morning. I can take it, plus it’s kind of my fault.”

Nikandros walks away with a nod and bow to them both.

Laurent is still waiting for her answer.

“The preparations for your birthday, sweetheart. That is what pleases me so,” Damianos shoots her a smile.

Her birthday? She’d forgotten all about it, what with the baby coming. Is her birthday really so close to that of her child’s?

Laurent puts a hand to her mouth.

Damianos sees this and places a kiss to her palm. It’s such an intimate gesture in so public a place, but Damianos has never been one to hide his affections. “Happy birthday, my love.”


	6. Sleepless Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : smut, Damen "who told you you could sleep ?"

Warm fingers curl gently into the strands of his hair, only to violently jerk his head up.

A wince is pulled from his lips. Laurent is tired, he’s so tired.

Damianos smiles, sweet as sugar. “Who told you you could sleep?”

Laurent shakes his head. He’s trembling, his body exhausted. He can’t take anymore.

Damianos’ smile turns cruel, his hand sliding down Laurent’s face to cup his cheek. “Oh you can sweetheart, and you will.”

Damianos lets him go and moves behind him. Where Laurent is propped up on his knees with a few pillows to keep his hips up, Damianos is standing.

Laurent’s face falls back into the bedding with a groan.

His hips are grasped again, and he’s dragged forcefully back onto Damianos’ cock. He gasps. Damianos is showing him no mercy, not when he’s so close to cumming.

His wrists are taken by rough hands and pulled back so his chest is not longer touching the bed; it forces him to keep his head up as well.

Damianos begins a brutal pace.

“Ahh!” Laurent cries. He has to grit his teeth to fight the sensitivity slowly killing him. He can’t cum again. He can’t take it. It’s too much.

“That’s right, baby,” Damianos says over the sounds of their hips meeting, of the lube squelching between them. It makes Laurent’s face burn hot. “You won’t be sleeping until I cum.”

It feels more like a threat than a promise.


	7. Married To Another (Damen/Laurent, Laurent/Torveld)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Dignitary Damen/Laurent getting sidetracked @ Auguste’s coronation prompt 17. “Stop teasing me so much..” 23. “We cant do that here!” 53. “We’re not just friends and you fucking know it.” 60. “You have no idea how much i want you.”

Laurent catches his eye across the room, people dancing to and fro between them, and Damianos smiles.

Laurent ducks his head and walks away. He can’t be seen looking his way, acknowledging him. The gossip and rumors will be rampant.

Laurent joins Torveld’s side, allows him to press a kiss to his cheek, and keeps his eyes away from the other side of the room. Auguste smiles at him.

He’s trying to be encouraging, trying to help Laurent accept the arranged marriage. It’d been set up when Laurent was born.

Even with their father now dead, they cannot get out of the contract.

Only the king has the power to nullify the marriage contract, and Auguste is not yet king, not until tomorrow morning. And Laurent’s hand was taken a year ago.

So Laurent had fooled around while he could, sowed his wild oaks if you will, and once he’d reached his twenty first year, he’d been tied to Torveld.

The ring is a heavy weight on his finger, but Laurent smiles and bears it. Torveld is nice, smart, and he treats Laurent as an equal.

He never expected to catch feelings with one of his flings, but Damianos is a big man with a big heart and takes up a big space in Laurent’s mind.

* * *

Torveld had stayed later than Laurent at the party. They’d agreed, with Laurent’s youth, they’d stay in Vere for the first three years of their marriage, then they’d move to Patras. Torveld had made many friends in the first year, and Laurent leaves him to his mingling.

Laurent turns a corner on his way to their bedroom, and sees Damainos at the end of the hall, waiting. He smiles at Laurent, then walks into the library.

Laurent glances around the hall on his way down, then follows Damianos in.

He’s pulled in by his waist, the door closing behind them. Warm lips take his own in a crushing kiss, full of longing and passion.

Laurent kisses back, even as his hands push Damianos away.

Damianos doesn’t step back, doesn’t leave Laurent space to think, but he stops kissing him. His eyes burn with lust and love, dancing together like a live flame.

Laurent takes his lip between his teeth, his hands still on Damianos’ chest.

Damianos tucks a strand of Laurent’s hair behind his ear, cups his cheek. Laurent can’t help leaning into the touch. “You have no idea how much I want you.”

Laurent’s eyes fall closed, his fists bunch the chiton between his fingers. “I do.”

“Then why?”

Laurent opens his eyes. Damianos looks sad, hurt. Wanting something with his whole body and soul, yet he cannot have it. “We can’t do that here.” Laurent pauses, his eyes dropping, and amends, “We can’t do that at all.”

Damianos wraps his arms around Laurent’s waist, pulls their bodies together. Laurent knows he needs to stop this, needs to walk away while they still can, while Laurent’s vows are still intact. Torveld gave up every pleasure slave he had and committed himself to Laurent completely.

The least Laurent can do is return the favor.

Damianos presses a kiss to Laurent’s neck, and Laurent needs to push him off and get out of here.

He doesn’t want to though.

Torveld is good, kind man, but Damianos holds his heart.

“Stop,” Laurent tries, and Damianos takes his lips away, his breath hot on Laurent’s neck. “…Stop teasing me so much.”

Laurent can feel Damianos grin against his neck.

* * *

Torveld doesn’t know. Doesn’t know anything. About the years Laurent has found a way to meet Damen and be with him, about the affair, or the sex they have right under his nose, or the love they share between them.

Damen goes to Auguste, both kings in their own rights now, with a petition.

“I want him.”

“He’s been married for seven years.”

“I don’t care.”

Auguste sighs. “I understand you are a close friend of his–”

“We’re not just friends and you know it.”

Auguste’s lips press together. He makes a gesture with his fingers, and the council files out, their lips already singing songs of Laurent’s infidelity.

Auguste glares at Damen from his throne while they wait for everyone to leave.

Once the guards close the doors, Auguste stands, and speaks to Damen as an equal. “There’s nothing I can do, Damen.”

“You can nullify the contract and Laurent will leave Torveld,” he says.

“Damen.” Auguste places his hands on Damen’s shoulders and looks into his eyes. “My father made that contract while Laurent was still a babe. Torgeir isn’t going to take lightly to breaking the marriage after so long, especially if Laurent jumps at the chance to leave.” His face echoes the sorrow Damen can feel gripping his heart. “My hands are tied.”


	8. Injured and Crazed (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: If it's not too much trouble maybe you could write some very over protective damen?? With injured or pregnant Laurent please??

“I want guards stationed at every door and window, archers in every tower.”

“Damen?”

“I want the gates sealed and no one leaves the city until the assassin is found.”

“Damen.”

“If one more hair on Laurent’s head is injured, I’ll have–”

“Damianos!”

Damen snaps his mouth shut, teeth clacking, and turns from Nikandros to Laurent, lying in bed with his side stitched up and bandaged.

He’s a mirror to how Damen himself looked not too long ago after Kastor stabbed him for the second time in his life, except Laurent also has a bandage around his neck, where the assassin almost succeeded in killing him.

Damen takes Laurent’s hand and kisses his knuckles. “Yes?”

Laurent gives him a smile. “You need to calm down.”

Damen’s brows draw together. “Someone tried to kill you. I won’t rest until that person is found.”

“Evidently no one else will either.”

“They won’t,” Damen’s voice rumbles with a threat.

Laurent turns to Nikandros. Laurent’s got dark circles under his eyes, a pallor has settled on his face, and sweat dots his temples. Damen found Laurent lying on their bedroom floor too long after the fact, bleeding, dying, and had gone into a rage the moment he was in Paschal’s healing hands.

“Nikandros, please see to it that the assassin is found without exhausting all our men within the first twenty-four hours.”

Nikandros nods, and leaves, lest Damen give different orders.

Damen kneels by Laurent’s bed, playing with his fingers. Laurent always kept his hands well-manicured. If not for the callouses, you’d think he’d never done a day of work in his life. “Why would you do that?” His voice is soft, barely reaching Laurent’s ears.

Laurent lets Damen straighten then curl his fingers, tilt them this way and that, a weak smile on his face. “Damianos, dear. Have you thought to ask if I saw anyone?”

Damen meets his eyes then, sharp with intent. “You saw?”

Laurent gives a single nod, then lays his head back with a dizzy spell. “I stabbed them.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asks, pulling Laurent’s cold hand to his cheek, kissing his wrist. He couldn’t bear to lose Laurent, not after they worked so hard to get here, to this place of safety and comfort.

“While you were out tearing the palace apart with your own two hands, Nikandros thought to ask.”

Damen nods. Nikandros is sensible like that, level-headed in his fear and anger where Damen can be rash.

He brings Laurent’s knuckles to his forehead, clutching his hand with both his own now. “I love you, Laurent.”

“I know, Damianos,” Laurent sighs, his voice straining. He’s in a great deal of pain and trying to hide it. It makes Damen’s heart ache. “I love you too.”

“I worry for you.”

“I know that too.”

Damen says no more, for Laurent knows it all. He remains on his knees by his bedside, clutching his freezing hand and praying to all the gods who will hear that Laurent recover.


	9. Yield (Damen & Auguste, Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Is there any way we could get a scene where Damen expresses to a living Auguste his intention to court Laurent because your writing is amazing and that would be wonderful

Damen takes a breath, thinks through what he’s asking, who he’s about to ask for, smiles at the thought of Laurent, then steps out on the field.

Auguste is on the other side of the field, sword at his side and waiting for Damen. The crowds are cheering, placing bets. Auguste smirks when he sees him.

They shake hands at the center. “Good luck, Damianos.”

“I need to ask you something.”

Auguste’s smile falls. “Now?”

Damen takes a step back and readies his sword. “Yes, now.”

Auguste steps back and readies himself, and they circle. “Well, go on then.”

They share a swing. The crowd roars. “I want to court your brother.”

Auguste swings then, harder than is strictly warranted, and he glares. “Why?”

Damen can’t help his smile. “I love him.”

They share a couple more swings, a thrust and block. “And you thought to ask now?” Auguste asks, incredulous. He knocks Damen’s sword away.

“I hoped you’d say yes, and after I beat you, I’d ask Laurent,” Damen says, smiling as Auguste takes his sword into both hands and the true match begins.

His smile is too wide. “After you beat me?” He gives a hard swing, clashing with Damen to lean close. “What makes you so sure you’ll win?”

They pull away, swinging and thrusting and trying to knock the other to his back. “I’ve been practicing since our last fight.”

“You lost our last fight,” Auguste reminds him.

The battle at Marlas had been hard, and being beaten by Auguste had been harder. They’d agreed to peace then, after Aleron had been wounded and Auguste had been given Regency in his place.

Damen remembers being called to that signing. Vere had been winning; Auguste had every right to keep the fight going.

He’d apparently been an advocate for peace from the beginning.

It’s been six years since then, and Damen has grown bigger and stronger. Big enough to beat Auguste now, especially with the right incentive.

The letters he’s shared with Laurent since that day started cordial and to the point, and had melted into love letters of yearning, and dreams of the future as the years passed.

When he’d seen him for the first time since Marlas, a grown man now, he’d smiled and kissed his hand, and relished the blush it brought to Laurent’s cheeks.

He blocks Auguste, bashes back against him. Laurent is on the dais now, probably on the edge of his seat, watching the two people he loves the most fighting and not knowing who to cheer for.

Auguste laughs, catching his feet. “You  _have_  been practicing.”

Auguste throws himself into the fight. He doesn’t dance with his moves like most Veretians. His footwork is solid.

“How do I know Laurent even wants to be courted by you?” Auguste asks, side stepping a thrust from Damen.

Damen puts his guard up when Auguste swings again. “If he doesn’t, he’ll tell me no.”

“And you’ll just accept this?”

Damen swings up with all his might, and manages to knock Auguste’s sword from his hands with pure strength alone.

Auguste hisses as he grabs his wrist, and Damen puts the tip of his blade to his throat. “I am a man of honor. Yield.”

Auguste doesn’t move for a very long moment. The crowd is quiet as they wait with baited breath to see what either crown prince will do next.

Auguste’s eyes are hard on him, dark with threats and protectiveness. He’s very close to Laurent, practically raised him after their mother died. He’s sizing Damen up. Then he smirks, and gives a single nod. “I yield.”

Damen feels the double meaning in his words. He pulls his sword away, raw with overwhelming relief as he shakes Auguste’s hand once more. With the approval he needs, he turns to the dais to ask Laurent himself for the chance to court him.


End file.
